Rumsfeld says contact lost with unmanned aircraft over Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States has lost contact with an
unmanned aircraft over Afghanistan but Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld said Sunday he had "no reason to believe" the plane was
brought down by Taliban fighters.

"The United States has, in fact, lost a … lost contact, I should
say, with an unmanned aerial vehicle," Rumsfeld told reporters
after appearing on a Sunday talk show.

"That happens from time to time in terms of the controls. We
have no reason to believe it was shot down."

He gave the first confirmation of the loss of such an aircraft,
used for years over Iraq and the Balkans for
intelligence-gathering.

Afghanistan's ruling Taliban claimed Saturday that its fighters
shot down an unmanned reconnaissance plane in northern Afghanistan
and were trying to determine what country launched it.

The Taliban's official Bakhtar news agency said the aircraft was
shot down over the Tashgurgan Pass in Samangan province, which
borders Uzbekistan. At the time, Pentagon and CIA officials
declined to comment on the report.

The United States acknowledged losing contact with two unmanned
"Predator" spy planes during the past month over Iraq, which
claimed to have shot both down. Washington did not acknowledge any
hits by hostile fire.

Pinpointing the cause of the disappearance of such aircraft is
difficult because the United States often cannot reach the
wreckage. The Predators are drones that are controlled from some
distance away.